Sinclair Family Season 5

Gary Sinclair—Adult male fortune sim
Scorpio personality
Neat 6, Outgoing 5, Active 8, Serious 3, Grumpy 3
Lifetime want—earn 100,000 simoleons

Regina Sinclair—Adult female fortune sim
Scorpio personality
Neat 6, Outgoing 5, Active 8, Serious 3, and Grumpy 3
Lifetime want—reach top of business career

Evan Sinclair—Teen male knowledge sim
Taurus personality
Neat 5, Outgoing 5, Lazy 3, Fun 8, Nice 6
Lifetime want—reach top of journalism career

Season 5—Fall

It was a difficult time for Evan Sinclair. His father, Gary, had just married a woman that Evan barely even knew. Regina seemed to make his father happy, but she wasn’t very nice. Evan’s Uncle Cameron had tried to allay some of his fears and reassure Evan that everything would be okay. Evan had started to relax some, but then his beloved Uncle Cam moved out. Cameron had moved in with his pregnant fiancée, Amanda. Evan understood why Cameron had to move out, but a part of him still felt abandoned.

Life with Regina in the house was about how Evan expected it would be. The moment he got home from school, Regina would start with her orders. “Go do your homework right away and then pick up your room. I want everything done before supper.”

Evan always did as he was told, but he was miserable and felt so alone. Sometimes Evan wished that he could spend more time with his dad. He wondered if things wouldn’t seem so bad if they had a chance to talk, but Gary was always working out with Regina. They were both obsessed with getting into perfect shape and getting promotions at work.

Evan didn’t like working out. He wanted to please his father, but athletics just weren’t his thing. Evan liked painting, so he spent most of his time alone, working on his art. Gary didn’t object much, because he could sell the canvases for money in his business. After so many nights alone with his paint, Evan finally maxed out his creativity skill.

Gary and Regina never got the wedding night that had dreamed of, as they both got sick with the flu immediately after their wedding. The first time they consummated their marriage was just as magical, though, even if it was a few days late.

Evan was completely desperate for company. He never got to spend time with his dad anymore. Uncle Cam said that Evan could call him anytime, but Evan knew that he was busy with the new baby. Evan didn’t want to bother him or be a nuisance. Evan had even lost his girlfriend, Meadow, when he learned that she had kissed his friend, Daniel. Evan had a severe need for some sort of social interaction, some sort of comfort from someone. Finally, he befriended a stray dog, Max. It was a mangy looking mutt, but Evan figured that no one loved Max either. The animal always happily accepted his love and listened as Evan shared his pain.

Gary and Regina were oblivious to Evan’s plight. Gary spent all of his time working out, trying to get that one last final promotion to be the top of the law enforcement career. Regina spent a lot of time working on her skills as well, but luck seemed to be in her favor. She received two rapid promotions at work, first to SWAT team leader and then to Co-Chief of Police with Gary.

Tired of being alone, Evan finally decided to call his friends, Alyssa and Daniel. He asked them to meet him downtown. They were both very kind to him and listened to his worries.

“I broke up with Meadow after I found out she was flirting and kissing other boys,” Evan said. Daniel, of course, already knew this; but it was news to Alyssa.

“Evan, I’m so sorry. You seemed like such a cute couple,” Alyssa exclaimed.

“I . . . I miss Uncle Cam, too. I know you never liked him much, Aly. He was always there for me, though.”

“Oh, Cameron and I have made up,” Alyssa informed him. “He’s a pretty good dad to my little brother. I don’t hate him anymore.”

“That’s good,” Evan said. At least someone’s life wasn’t ruined by a step-parent.

Alyssa gave Evan a hug. “Oh, Evan, please don’t be so sad. Things will start to look up soon.”

Life didn’t seem to improve for Evan, though. When he got home from school the next day, Regina was already home. “Go upstairs and do your homework first thing. No going out with your friends first like yesterday,” Regina commanded him.

Evan finally lost it. “You’re not the boss of me! You’re not my mom!” Evan ran up the stairs in tears, but he obeyed her and started his homework anyway. His dad was going to be furious with him for back talking Regina like that. The best thing to do was just to do his homework as he’d been told and then to go apologize to Regina. It hurt in his chest to even think about apologizing to her, but it was the smartest thing to do to try to stay out of trouble.

After finishing his homework, Evan crept downstairs. He was looking for Regina, but he wanted to get a feel of her mood before he approached her. Evan was surprised to hear gagging sounds from the bathroom. He cautiously peeked his head around the door. Regina was in there throwing up. Evan was confused. Surely she wasn’t sick again. But, then he saw the pregnancy test sitting out on the counter. Regina was pregnant!

Evan dashed back up to his room. He had to sit down. He felt faint. All of his worst fears were coming true. His dad and Regina were going to have a baby of their own. It would be the perfect little athletic genius. His father wouldn’t care about him at all anymore. Regina wouldn’t want him around being a bad and lazy influence on her son.

He couldn’t sit back and just watch it happen. The thought of his father actually telling him that he didn’t love him anymore made Evan start to hyperventilate. He wasn’t going to just wait for it to happen. He’d run away, just like Cameron had done as a teen. It was the only thing left that he could do. It was better to leave now, on his own terms, than to be kicked out of the house and hear his father say the words.

There was only one thing Evan wanted to do before he left Emerald Isle for good. He had to call and say goodbye to his Uncle Cam. Still sobbing, Evan dialed the phone.

“Hello?” It was Alyssa’s voice that answered.

Evan gasped as he continued to cry. He hadn’t thought of what to do if Cameron didn’t answer the phone. He was unable to say anything as he sobbed into the phone.

“Ev? Evan is that you?” Alyssa asked in alarm as she recognized th
e crying.

“Uncle Cam, please, Aly?” Evan begged.

“He’s out shopping for baby clothes with Mom and Matthew. Evan, what’s wrong?”

There was so much concern in her voice. She always had been so kind and understanding to Evan. He wanted to talk to someone, for anyone to tell him that they cared. His lip trembled as he tried to explain. “I’m running away, Aly.”

“WHAT! Why? What happened, Evan?”

“Re-Regina’s pregnant,” Evan whispered.

“Ev, my mom just had a baby, too. I know you don’t really like Regina, but having a new sibling isn’t that bad. It’s not the end of the world. It’s certainly not worth running away over,” she tried to convince him.

“It’s different. Amanda and Uncle Cam both love you. No-nobody . . . nobody cares about me. I’ll just be in the way,” Evan’s words were muddled by the tears.

“Evan, your dad loves you. I know you don’t think so, but he does,” Alyssa hoped to reassure him. “Don’t run away, not without talking to your dad first. Ask him how he feels about you and the baby.”

“I don’t want to hear him actually say it, Aly. It’s better if I just leave. I . . .”

“Come move in with us then,” Alyssa interrupted.

“What?” Evan was shocked. “No, your house is full already with the new baby and . . .”

“There is plenty of room in the house and there are people here that care about you. You know Cameron loves you. I care about you a lot, too, Evan. I don’t want you to run away. I know that Mom will be okay with it. We’d all want you here. Please don’t run away.”

“You really think your mom would be okay with me moving in?” Evan hesistated. He’d love to live with Uncle Cam and Alyssa, but he didn’t want to just be in the way somewhere else.

“Evan, I’ll talk to Mom right away. You are definitely welcome here. Promise me you won’t run away until I call back or until we come to pick you up, okay?”

“O-Okay,” Evan cried. He really didn’t want to live all on his own. If the Cory family would accept him, he’d be happy to move there.

Crying harder than ever, Evan went into his room to pack his things. Whether he was moving in with his Uncle or running away, he was leaving the house that night.

Gary had just received word that he’d been promoted to Captain Hero at work. It was the goal he’d been hoping for. Now he could have more time to spend with Regina and Evan. He was terrified when he received the frantic call from Amanda. Apparently Evan wanted to run away. He was convinced that Regina was pregnant and that he wasn’t a part of the new Sinclair family. Gary had lost his brother for years as a runaway; he wasn’t going to lose his son the same way.

Gary rushed home. He was so worried about his son. How could Evan not know how much he loved him? Hadn’t Gary worked so hard to provide a good life for him? He’d got married so that Evan could have a new mom. He’d worked for promotions so that Evan could have nice things. How could his son not see the way he felt about him? Regina met him on the lawn. It was obvious to him now. He didn’t know how he’d missed it before. She was pregnant.

“It’s true. You are pregnant,” Gary said, surprised.

“I’m sorry, Gary. I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure,” Regina explained.

Gary couldn’t resist taking a moment to rub her belly. “I’m going to be a daddy again.” He smiled as he thought of raising another little one.

“Evan’s really upset. I need to go talk to him,” Gary informed Regina. He rushed upstairs. Evan’s door was locked. “Open this door right now, young man!” Gary demanded.

Evan was scared. He didn’t want to let his dad in, but he didn’t dare disobey his father. He let the door swing open and then went to stare out the window. Hopefully his Uncle Cam would be there for him soon.

In his mind, Evan was envisioning how this would go. Regina had probably told Gary about how Evan had back talked her earlier. That was the reason for the panic and the anger. Gary would probably punish him. Evan worried that his father would decide to slap his smart mouth.

The actual words out of his father’s mouth deeply shocked Evan. “Evan, I love you so much. I know you’re upset right now, but let’s talk about it. You’re unhappy because Regina’s pregnant, right?”

Apparently, his father already knew the whole thing. His uncle had called and told him it all. There was nothing left to say but admit the truth. “I know you won’t want me around anymore. It’s okay, Dad. You don’t have to tell me. I . . . I’m leaving.”

“Evan, there is never going to be a time that I don’t want you around. Now you unpack your things right now, because you aren’t going anywhere. You’re my son, and I love you. No one could ever replace you in my heart. I’m sorry if I’ve done something to give you the impression that I don’t want you as a part of this family. I’m so sorry if you don’t realize how much I love you.”

“You, you really love me, Dad?” Evan asked between sobbed breaths.

“Of course I do, son. So does Regina. You mean so much to both of us,” Gary explained. He pulled his son into a deep hug. He needed Evan to feel how much he cared about him.

“Evan, I know that we are very different. I’m sorry if our personalities don’t match very well, but I definitely want you as a part of this family. I think of you like my own son. That’s why I’m always so hard on you to succeed. I don’t know where you got the idea that there wasn’t room for you in the house, too. I want you to be the big brother that my baby looks up to. It will be good for him or her to have someone as creative and kind as you in his life.”

Evan hugged Regina. He couldn’t believe her words. How had he misread their feelings so much? She seemed genuine when she said that she wanted him around. Saying that she wanted him to be a good influence on her baby was the strongest most powerful statement she could make to Evan.

The doorbell rang. “That will be Uncle Cam coming for me, probably,” Evan explained.

“Amanda called me. They were all on their way over. Do you feel up to talking to them?” Gary asked.

Evan nodded. He went downstairs to greet his Uncle and his best friend. It was embarrassing for him to explain everything to them. He didn’t want them to see him in tears, but he knew that the entire Cory family cared about him. They would hug him and understand.

The hug he received from his Uncle Cameron made everything start to feel so much better.

That night they had a big family talk. Gary and Regina agreed to be gentler in their pressure on Evan to succeed. They also were going to make an effort to become involved in more of the activities that Evan cared about. Cameron and Alyssa both promised to spend more time with Evan. They’d been neglecting him for time with Matthew, but they promised to include him more often. Evan would finally get some love and comfort from his family.

Everyone stayed true to their word. Regina took up playing chess with Evan. It gave them a chance to actually talk. Evan was able to discuss the new baby with her. When they talked openly about it, things didn’t seem near as bad anymore. He was actually looking forward to being a big brother.

Of course, some things never change. Gary and Regina still worked out together every night, even if Regina was pregnant. However, they made sure to spend some time with Evan before and after that.

Season Recap

1. Regina is pregnant.

2. Regina was promoted to Chief of Police. I’m working on getting her to top of the law enforcement career before switching her to her desired business career.

3. Gary was promoted to Captain Hero, top of the law enforcement career. He’s still only earned 25,000 simoleons in his life. It’s a far way away from the 100,000 he desires, but I’m working on getting his business to a high rank so that he can sell it.

4. Evan maxed out his creativity skill and has at least 8 skill points in all skills except body. He broke up with Meadow.

Points Recap

Previous non-money points 69

Top of career +1

New non-money points 70

New money total for this household to be added for neighborhood points 75,775 simoleons

Author’s Notes

I fictionalized this episode a bit more than others. It was fun to accentuate the differences between Evan and Gary and Regina. It’s also what I imagine the character would have felt when he discovered that his step-mother was pregnant. I did cheat just a tiny bit to get the pictures for this update. I didn’t cheat in any way that would affect game play. I just played for a moment to get pictures and didn’t save. It was only to get pictures. Anyway, I think it made for an interesting update. And, everything is all happy now. I can’t wait to see what Gary and Regina’s child looks like.